Trying my hand at home water distillation

Just before Christmas I was given the opportunity to try my hand at a home water distillation unit from JD Harris. Water quality is important to me, and in a previous residence I’d even had a double cartridge, under-sink filtration system installed. Since those days, I’d become interested in the distillation process as an alternative. The main difference is that the water in the distiller is boiled first (kills off nasties) and then is cooled before passing through a charcoal filter. The under-sink cartridges were convenient, but also filtered everything that passed through, whether for drinking or dishwashing. The Deluxe Water Distiller is much more for drinking purposes, or other applications where pure water is needed. It’s not a fast system, but you can be far more selective with usage.

The unit itself is not small, but isn’t really any more intrusive on a kitchen work surface than a mixer or large juicer. Using the distiller is simple: Fill the main unit to the mark, pop on the top, plug the wires into the unit and mains, pop a charcoal sachet into a little plastic thing, and let it do its job. I was expecting it to be slow, but I admit wondering if it was doing anything at all. I listened closely to the wall of the stainless steel body and heard quiet bubbling begin. It’ll take about five hours to fill your jug with water, but I must say, it’s worth the wait. The taste was of nothing at all. It was almost disconcerting.

Fortunately, here on the North Cornish coast we live in an area where the water quality is pretty good and limescale is nonexistent, so the leftover gunk in the distiller was minimal. If I’d used this when I lived in Berkshire, I can imagine the scum I’d be cleaning out… Ugh. Makes me shiver.

I plan on using the next batch of water in my home winemaking. It’s great to think that my wine will have the best possible taste from the lack of impurities in the water I use. Another idea would be to use it in our coffee maker – not for limescale reasons, but to let the coffee taste be its best.

The Megahome Deluxe Water Distiller did what it was supposed to do and did it well. My only critique would be for the instructions provided and the unclear wording on the charcoal filters. Other than that, I like this machine a lot. It’s cheap to run (far cheaper than buying distilled water from the store), and if you’re in an area of the country where the water contains more impurities than is desirable, I’d recommend getting one of these.
Use code WATU to get free UK shipping on a Megahome Deluxe Water Distiller.

—
Deluxe Water Distiller kindly provided by JD Harris for the purpose of review. I have not been paid otherwise.